Monday, August 26, 2013

As many of you will know, I'm a big fan of Tara Books, a publisher out of India. They produce many beautiful, handmade books that celebrate the traditional storytelling traditions and varied art forms from around the country. I've tagged several blogs ‘TaraBooks’ if you’d like to see other examples of their publications.

Today’s offering is a retelling of the Biblical story, Noah’s ark, illustrated in the Bengal Patua style of scroll painting.

The Enduring Ark by Joydeb Chitrakar & Gita Wolf is the traditional story of Noah, as instructed by God, building an ark that will hold two of each animal to withstand a deluge that will wipe the Earth clean from corruption.

The ‘scroll’ style book is more accordion-like that can either be flipped page-by-page or opened up and displayed as a panoramic view as the story literally unfolds. Once you've worked your way through the story you flip the last page over and work through the last part of the story. The illustrations are richly coloured folk art with highly stylized elements.

I can’t say that this is an essential purchase for every collection but the format of the book is unusual and for me, very appealing, which I think may be of interest to children. Looking at this book because of its art form may be of interest to all ages.

This IS a one word book that conveys the deep seated love
and obsession a pet dog has for his red ball.

It is how he connects to the people in his world. It’s what he plays with by himself to keep
himself amused. It consumes his dreams
and his nightmares.

Each page typically has a couple of panels depicting our
ball-crazy pooch engaging with his ball, trying to get his people to play ball
(baby , cat and mom doing yoga not so much success – young person, game on!)
and waiting by the door in anticipation of young person returning home to throw
ball (oh, joy!) yet again.

The illustrations aren't all that elaborate. They convey the dog’s emotions, playfulness
and actions very well which is the whole intent of the book. The colour scheme is pretty low key with
muted yellows, greens and oranges expect for the red ball, the red hair of his
young person and his dream sequences which are more vivid. There is no way that you will not know how
large this red ball figures in the life of this dog.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Observation is a key skill
in the practice and process of science.Ask Lee Berger.

In The Skull in the Rock: how a
scientist, a boy, and Google Earth opened a new window on human origins
by Marc Aronson, we learn about Dr. Berger, a palaeontologist who with the help
of his son and an assistant found the fossilized remains of an early hominin, Australopithecus sediba (dates to 1.97
to 1.98 million years ago), adding another significant piece to the puzzle of human
evolution.

There is an emphasis in the
book about the importance of observation, seeing what’s there and not there, and
looking with new eyes at areas that already have been scrutinized. In southern Africa, the Cradle of Humankind decades of work have resulted
in what scientists currently believe about the evolution of humans. It was generally felt that there wasn't much
left to look for ground level and research would predominantly continue in
science labs.

Dr. Berger, however, using
GPS coordinates and Google Earth found a fresh perspective about this very
terrain he’d been working in for the last 17 years. New features emerged that had previously gone
unnoticed. “He and generations of previous scientists had been blind – seeing only
what they expected to see.” (p.33)

The book is a fascinating
read. We learn how Lee Berger came to be
interested in this field and some of his experiences. The book is divided into short chapters with
lots of photographs. There is a brief
list of resources for further reading and a glossary/index, as well.

The part that I found most
interesting was the approach that was being advocated by Dr. Berger. There is a highly collaborative aspect to his
work, an appreciation for how science builds upon the work of those who have
come before, and that the next stage of work with these remains is with the
scientific community as a whole. His
work and his interpretations are only the start of fully understanding the
implications. Lee Berger and Marc Aronson to encourage young readers to
continue to follow this story as it unfolds are hosting a website, www.scimania.org where current research
will be updated.

(**Note: the above link does
not appear to be working at this time.
The this link takes you to a cached copy of teaching notes for this
book. )

There is also an interactive
e-book edition of this book as well that may be worthwhile. Check out this book review by Horn Book.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Some of you may remember
that every summer, at the end of August, before school starts, I present a book
talk to a group of elementary teachers around a ‘big idea’ that they've selected to teach to K-6 throughout the year.
The principal calls it ‘a book talk on steroids’. I think that’s good, right?

This year’s big idea is
AWAKENING.

It’s big alright.

Every second kids book can
somehow be linked (at least in my head) to this idea of awakening.

When I received the planning
notes from the teachers last June I found many of my ideas matched with theirs,
which was a relief. As well, I noticed
that this year there was a lot more synchronicity between the grades compared
to previous years. The way I'm interpreting these notes is coming up with a focus on the internal processes of
self awareness, mindfulness, living in the moment, awareness of others (as in
community and society, local and global), empathy,

how the brain works, and
well being. All of this somehow connects to developing meaning and purpose in
one’s life.

Each grade also presents
some specific ideas that more closely connect with the Alberta
curriculum, current events, and Calgary,
too.

So back to translating all
of the above to books teachers can use in the classroom. Well, there’s a lot that could potentially
work. Here are a few titles that I think
will be solid additions in the classroom:

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola
Rhuday-Perkovich – Great choice for upper elementary that covers
many of the aspects about awakening.

A Bus Called Heaven by Bob Graham – K-3, a terrific story that will connect personal
action with community.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. – For grades 5-8. An
historical novel that explores the nature of gender, family and awareness of
the natural world.

Have Fun Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke. – For grades 3-5. Nothing like travel to ‘awaken’ one to how
other people live and discover things about oneself at the same time. An African girl comes to Canada to visit
her grandmother for the first time.

Home of the Brave by Katherine
Applegate – Grades
5-7. Told in narrative verse, we too
experience culture shock as a young Sudanese refuge figures out the complexities
of living in a large American city.

I Know Here by Laurel Croza – For K-3 level about
really knowing your home and community especially the physical landscape. (Canadian)

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech – For grades 3-6. Another story told in verse that shows Jack’s
deepening appreciation for poetry and how poetry gives him a voice and a way to
handle life’s problems.

My Map Book by Sara Fanelli – K-2. I'm pretty sure I've recommended this one
before to the teachers at Nellie McClung.
I use it a lot in many of my workshops.
Works with the geographical thinking component of social studies as well
as identity, family and what’s important in this particular child’s life.

Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick – Another good choice
for upper elementary that especially touches on identity, empathy and activism
with a Buddhist kick.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Check out the jog created by Cathy at Reflect and Refine Learning Building a Learning Community and Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learningthat celebrates the top 10, can't-live-without picture books of teachers, librarians and other children's literature aficionados from around the blogosphere.This is a great place to find out titles both new and classic that capture the hearts and imaginations of both adults and children. I always come away with a large list of titles to track down for the Doucette Library. With over 80 participants I can't imagine you won't find a recommendation or two.Enjoy.PS. To view events from the last couple of years click here.

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About Me

I am the reference coordinator at The Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, a curriculum library in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
I love connecting education students and teachers with engaging and exciting resources for classroom teaching. I believe that resources that get me excited (or those that get you excited) are the ones with the best potential to get kids interested in learning about - well, everything. Finding those books that connect to the real world are the ones I enjoy promoting the most.